User satisfaction with new energy vehicles in China increased in 2025, with domestic brands demonstrating competitive advantages in the sector, the China Association for Quality reported.

The association released the 2025 China New Energy Vehicle Customer Satisfaction Index on Wednesday, revealing that the score reached 80 points, a year-on-year increase of one point.

This shows China's NEV industry has gradually entered a high-quality development stage featuring "simultaneous growth in quantity and quality", the CAQ noted.

Among them, both pure electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles, including plug-in hybrid and extended-range, achieved an 80-point satisfaction score — up two points and one point year-on-year respectively.

The survey, which marks the 11th consecutive year the CAQ has conducted it, covered 162 best-selling models from 40 automakers and 55 brands.

As competition in the NEV industry intensifies, automakers' focus on user needs has strengthened and domestic brands have emerged as standout beneficiaries, the CAQ said.

The survey shows domestic NEV brands matched joint venture brands with an 80-point satisfaction score, a contrast to the fuel-powered vehicle segment where domestic brands trail joint ventures by one point.

Domestic brands' advantage extends to both product quality and service. In terms of reliability, domestic NEVs recorded significantly fewer problems per 100 new vehicles, or PP100, than joint venture counterparts — most in intelligent cockpits, where the gap reached 16 fewer issues per 100 vehicles.

On the service front, domestic brands led joint venture brands by one point in sales service satisfaction. Their end-to-end experience — from consultation and test drives to delivery — is better aligned with user needs, giving them a clear competitive edge.

Behind the overall satisfaction uptick lies progress in both quality and performance engineering. NEV quality and reliability satisfaction hit 80.8 points, up 0.7 points year-on-year, while performance satisfaction reached 81.1 points, a 0.5-point year-on-year increase.

Intelligence remains a key differentiator for NEVs, with their experience outperforming fuel-powered vehicles by a clear margin. NEVs reported 39 fewer PP100 in intelligent cockpits and 22 fewer in intelligent driving assistance compared to fuel-powered cars.

Meanwhile, the mention rate of user-friendly functions for NEVs' intelligent cockpits and driving assistance was 6 and 8 percentage points higher respectively.

However, the industry faces notable challenges as well, particularly a surge in overall PP100. Data show China's NEV industry recorded 109 PP100 in 2025, an 18-point year-on-year increase. Three systems accounted for 60 percent of total issues — intelligent cockpits (31 cases), intelligent driving assistance (22 cases), and interior trim (12 cases) — representing a 15-percentage-point increase from 2024.

Compounding this challenge is NEV users' significantly lower tolerance for intelligent-related malfunctions compared to fuel-powered vehicle users.

"This reflects users' higher expectations for NEV intelligence levels," the CAQ emphasized. "The industry must prioritize and continuously optimize intelligent functions to meet these elevated user demands."

The survey also captured shifting consumer priorities in car purchases. Interest in low maintenance costs and attractive design is declining, while core attributes — strong performance, high reliability, and superior comfort — have become key considerations.

Mentions of high reliability have risen for four consecutive years, and high comfort for two years, according to the survey.

The CAQ stressed that while the NEV industry has achieved growth in quality and quantity, addressing intelligent system reliability will be critical to sustaining satisfaction gains. Domestic brands, having established competitive advantages in user-centric design and service, are well-positioned to lead this optimization drive.

caoyingying@chinadaily.com.cn